The Right Direction
by Asami Grace
Summary: Before they were famous, One Direction and Big Time Rush all attended Pineview High School. Insert yourself into this story as the love interest of Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, or Carlos Garcia, and follow your favorite boys as they navigate all the love and drama of high school! New chapter every week.
1. Delinquents and Drama Queens

_Welcome to_ **The Right Direction** _! Before we begin the story, take this quiz to find out which character is your self-insert. Write down how many a's, b's, and c's you get. Once you know which Pineview girl you are most like, continue reading to see what happens between you and your love interest…_

* * *

 _1\. What qualities best describe you?_

a. Compassionate, intelligent, loyal  
b. Elegant, optimistic, motivated  
c. Fun, spunky, authoritative

 _2\. What after-school activity would you be involved in?_

a. Volunteer clubs!  
b. The arts! Specifically theater.  
c. Sports, like football and basketball!

 _3\. What's your favorite color?_

a. Green  
b. Blue  
c. Yellow

 _4\. What's your parent situation?  
_

a. Loving and empathetic mom  
b. Protective parents who want you to succeed  
c. What parents?

 _5\. Who would you want as your best friend?_

a. Liam Payne – protective and thoughtful  
b. Kendall Night – talented and charismatic  
c. Louis Tomlinson – sassy and fun to hang out with

 _6\. What are you most likely doing at a party?  
_

a. Playing truth or dare  
b. Mingling and dancing  
c. Video games and snacks

 _7\. Who is your ideal boyfriend?_

a. Zayn Malik – mysterious, bad boy, but sweet underneath it all  
b. Louis Tomlinson – well-dressed, witty, and the life of a party  
c. Carlos Garcia – generous, a little nerdy, and treats you like royalty

 _8\. Where would you meet your future boyfriend?_

a. Book store or coffee shop  
b. A play or concert  
c. Football game or party

 _9\. Why would you and your boyfriend argue?_

a. He gets protective/jealous easily  
b. Your parents forbid your relationship  
c. You're afraid you're moving too fast

 _10\. What annoys you most?_

a. People who don't pay attention then ask stupid questions  
b. Close-minded people who won't give others a chance  
c. Snobby people who think they're better than everyone else

 _11\. Who would make the steamiest ex-boyfriend?_

a. Logan Mitchell – you broke up due to distance, he still really cares about you  
b. Harry Styles – possessive with hard time getting over you  
c. Niall Horan – you broke up on pretty good terms, so you stay friends

* * *

 **Mostly a's:** You are **Maya Payne**! Maya is smart, caring, and she has a fun-loving side that comes out when she's with the right people. You can find her reading at her favorite coffee shop or spending time with friends. She's easy to talk to, and her joyful radiance makes people want to be her friend!

 **Mostly b's:** You are **Grace Pearson**! Grace is elegant, talented, and she is very driven. You can find her lighting up the Pineview stage with her charming smile. She treats everyone with the same compassion, and she has big goals that she works hard to achieve. It's no surprise that boys love her!

 **Mostly c's:** You are **Sam Sheffield**! Sam is spunky, creative, and she will _never_ back down from a challenge. A born leader, a lot of people at Pineview respect and look up to Sam. She can be one of the bros, but she also has close girl friends who she'd defend to the end!

 _ **Now, onto the story…**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Delinquents and Drama Queens**

"Zayn Malik, this is the fourth time you have been sent to Sub School by Mr. Styles. What am I going to do with you?"

Zayn slunk deeper into the plastic blue chair across from Mrs. Knight, the Sub School administrator. _Because Mr. Styles hates me_ , he wanted to say, but he had already given her that excuse in the last visit. Honestly, he saw no other explanation, so he chose not to say anything.

"Zayn?" Mrs. Knight's auburn eyebrows rose as she looked at him over her black-rimmed glasses. "Are you listening to me?"

"Yes," he replied quietly. "But I don't know how to answer your question."

She sighed and pushed some of her papers aside so she could give him her full attention. Her hands rested on the desk, and her fingers strummed the wood. "Well, you can start by explaining why he sent you here this time."

"I don't know."

"That's a problem right there," she said, sighing again. A sympathetic expression crossed her pale face. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Zayn's eyes met the floor. That was the exact same question she had asked in all of his previous three visits. It was also what she said whenever his father sent him to Sub School to talk about his problems… not that Zayn ever actually talked about his problems. His dad was convinced that since Zayn's mother had died, Zayn was a troubled child. But Zayn knew that it was just an excuse to get him out of the house. His dad and he had never really had a steady relationship; Zayn's mom usually kept the peace. Now that she was gone, they were wary to face each other.

His throat felt dry. "Not really." It was the same answer he gave her every time she had asked the question. He had spoken to Mrs. Knight more than he had anyone else in the past three months, and it was a little embarrassing how much this middle-aged woman knew about him thanks to his dumb dad.

"Does Mr. Styles think that you're not paying attention in class? Have you started doing your homework every night like I asked?" she questioned.

"I always pay attention. Yes, I've done my homework even though I already understand the material." Mr. Styles was one of those teachers who seemed to think that every student learned the same way. Zayn wasn't stupid; he could pick up the calculus quite easily. On the exams, though, that was another story.

Mrs. Knight observed how Zayn slouched in his seat and his dark t-shirt, black pants, and how his hair flipped up in the front. A small smile spread onto her face. "I think I begin to understand where Mr. Styles is coming from," she said, eyeing him knowingly. "First of all, I suggest that you sit up straight when you are in class," and Zayn fixed his posture. "Second, I believe that he is so hard on you because he thinks you are not putting effort into his class."

"But I -" he began, but Mrs. Knight held up a hand.

"Let me finish," she said quickly. "You may put loads of effort into calculus, but your appearance doesn't show it. Do you want to know my advice, Zayn?" she asked.

"Sure. Anything to stop him from being rude to me all class."

"I think that you should go to him at the end of the day and ask him if there's anything you can do to bring up your grade. It's just a few test scores bringing you down, right?"

"But Mrs. Knight, I don't think -"

"I think that this will work," she said with a hint of finality. "You can even tell him that I sent you to do it if that'll make this easier. If you show an interest in doing well in his class, he may lighten up a bit."

Zayn frowned. This lady was good at a lot of things, but wrapping her mind around a teenage brain was not one of them.

"Will you promise that you'll do that for me, Zayn?"

 _Zayn would rather drink out of a toilet than ask Mr. Styles to help. But Mrs. Knight was one of the only people these days who was always nice to him. What could he say?_

"Sure."

Mrs. Knight smiled and turned back to her papers. Dismissively, she told him, "Taking these little steps may turn everything around. You never know."

Zayn picked up his black backpack and slung it over one shoulder.

"Sure, Mrs. Knight."

"Have a good day," she called as he exited Sub School.

Most people would probably walk out into the hallway and head to lunch without planning to meet with their least favorite teacher. Most people would probably forget they even had the conversation. Unfortunately, Zayn Malik was a guy who honored his promises, especially to people who cared about him.

But that didn't mean he was looking forward to this afternoon.

* * *

Louis Tomlinson's feet rested on his desk, crossed at the ankles. He kept his navy shirt tucked into his jeans and his dark hair looking constantly windswept. His emerald eyes glanced back at the sophomore girls who were trying to inconspicuously whisper about him. Louis was also the master of the smoldering smirk, so when he shot them one, their blushing reaction was more than expected.

He was also a bit of a conceited jerk.

"Teacher alert," his friend Carlos Garcia, the only other senior in the Theatre II class, whispered to him.

"Mr. Tomlinson, feet down."

The effortlessly loud voice of their drama teacher projected around the classroom, and Louis reluctantly removed his feet from the table.

"Let me know when the star on your door is too bright for you, Mr. Tomlinson. I'll let you soil my furniture then," Mr. McDonald remarked. Louis smirked again because this man hardly ever made sense to him. "Now," he continued, addressing the whole class. "I have exciting news for you all."

Everyone in the classroom seemed to perk up even though they should've known better. Whenever a teacher says he has exciting news, it has a hidden connotation… what's really exciting is when the teacher gets to watch his class's reaction to the news.

"I have a new requirement for this class!" Mr. McDonald declared.

Everyone groaned, which made the grey-haired man smile.

"There has been a bit of a shortage of people who want to audition for the school's theatrical productions, and there is a lot of talent in this room. Auditions for our fall show are next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and I want to see everyone in this room there on one of those days."

"You're kidding," Louis grumbled.

"I don't know, Louis. I think it could be fun!" Carlos had a huge grin on his face that made Louis want to spit. "I've never had time to do a show, but now that it's a requirement, my mom _has_ to let me do it!"

"That's the spirit, Carlos," Mr. McDonald said approvingly. "Callbacks are on Thursday, and the cast list will be announced the next day."

Louis crossed his arms but said nothing. He had only decided to take Theatre II in his senior year because his counselor had accidentally signed him up for a Personal Fitness class. He could exercise badly on his own, thank you very much. The smelly locker rooms also drove him crazy (but apparently, the theatre's dressing rooms were only a little bit better).

Still, Mr. McDonald hardly made them do anything besides a few duet skits in class. Louis had grown accustomed to applying little to no effort in Theatre. Making them audition for a full-length production was something else. Maybe he could just not show up…

"I'll give you credit when you audition, so don't even think about not showing up," his teacher continued, smashing Louis' hopes and dreams.

"If you get a part, do you have to keep it?" Louis asked.

" _If_ you get a role, then it would be rude to deny it, but if your schedule does not permit you to be a part of the production, then I can work something out with your parents," he replied.

 _Well, that was no help._ Louis snapped his fingers in disgust a little too obviously.

"Mr. Tomlinson." Mr. McDonald turned to Louis. "I believe that auditioning for this show will be beneficial to your high school experience. It might even dim that blinding star on your door for the better."

"What's the show called?" one of the girls behind Carlos spoke up.

" _The Man Who Came to Dinner_ ," Mr. McDonald said proudly.

Louis scowled as the drama teacher proceeded to talk about what the show was about, what the main characters were like, how difficult the set would be to build, and other boring stuff that Louis didn't care about. He quietly came to the conclusion that this new requirement had just ruined his day.

Plus he was frustrated because he never understood the dumb star metaphors.

* * *

That afternoon, Zayn dragged his feet to the math wing, feeling crappy. Mrs. Knight didn't seem to understand that he and Mr. Styles just _did not_ get along. At all. She was convinced that there was some logical reason for people not liking each other. But sometimes, people's personalities just didn't click. No explanation necessary.

There was a nagging in the pit of his stomach as he approached the doorway. When he stepped into the classroom, he saw a girl with dark hair pulled into a high ponytail talking to Mr. Styles. "Harry wanted me to tell you that he needed to stay after school with his science teacher," she was saying. "Is there anything you needed to tell him?"

Mr. Styles shook his balding head with an inquisitive expression. "I only wonder why he decided to send his girlfriend to tell me this news instead of getting his butt over here himself. Did he say why?"

Harry's girlfriend shrugged. "Something about remediation, but you didn't hear that from me," she told him.

"Oh, I would've heard about it from someone sooner or later. There are no secrets when your father works at the school," Mr. Styles sighed, rubbing his temples. "I assume he's still heading over to your place when he's done with his Chemistry teacher?"

"If it's alright with you, of course," she replied.

"Yes, yes." He sighed again. "Thank you, Grace. Have a good time at the game tonight."

Grace slung her backpack over her shoulder, almost hitting Zayn.

"Oh, excuse me," she said as she headed out the door.

Zayn watched her leave then swallowed hard and turned back to Mr. Styles who was making a conscious effort not to notice him. The math teacher smoothed his white button-down shirt and sat down in the swivel chair at his desk. He then opened his laptop and began to type. Zayn's eyebrow twitched in frustration.

"Mr. Styles," he finally spoke.

Mr. Styles didn't even look up as he shuffled through some papers. "What do you want, Mr. Malik?" he asked. His tone was significantly ruder than it had been a few seconds ago when he was talking to his son's girlfriend. Zayn's frown deepened, but he tried not to show it in his voice.

"When you sent me to Sub School this afternoon, I talked to Mrs. Knight," he began. Mr. Styles made no indication that he'd heard a word, but Zayn plowed on anyway, "She advised me to come to you and ask if there was anything I could do to help my grade."

"And what exactly would you like me to say?" Mr. Styles questioned, still not making complete eye contact. Zayn wanted to slap the papers right out of his stupid hands… but he didn't.

"I just wanted to ask you if there was anything I could do to help my grade, Mr. Styles," he said as pleasantly as he possibly could.

"Well, Mr. Malik, if you wanted to do well in this class, you should've done the work the first time."

"I do want to do well in this class," Zayn assured him.

"Well, you certainly don't show it, now do you?"

"That's why I came to talk to you, so you know that I care." His diplomatic attitude was quickly diminishing. "I understand the work you do in class, but the tests are messing me up."

"Maybe you just don't care to study enough," Mr. Styles said dismissively.

"I study plenty!" Zayn snapped. He exhaled slowly to calm himself. "I just want to know if there's anything I can do."

Mr. Styles finally stopped looking at his papers and met Zayn's eye.

"Since you claim that you study so much, then I don't know if there's anything we can do. I can't magically make you do well on the tests, you understand. I'm not really sorry, but if you refuse to do the work, there's absolutely nothing that I can do for you."

Zayn was ready to strangle this teacher. _I'm not really sorry? Who says that?!_ Somehow, Mr. Styles always managed to turn everything Zayn said against him. It was ridiculous. _This_ was the exact reason why Zayn didn't like talking to him.

"That's all I needed to know then – "

He was interrupted when a girl with bouncy dark curls came into the classroom. She had her bag slung over her shoulder and held her sleek, black winter coat in her arms. Mr. Styles noticed her entrance and completely left his conversation with Zayn to speak with her.

"Hello, Maya, what brings you here today?" he asked.

Maya glanced over at Zayn who was unsuccessfully trying to hide how annoyed he was. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" she asked nicely. "I don't mind waiting."

"Oh no, not at all," Mr. Styles replied for both of them. "How can I help you, my dear?"

"Mr. Styles, I just got my progress report. I remembered that at the beginning of the year, you promised that if I spent a certain amount of time tutoring, you would bump up my grade half a letter," she explained. Mr. Styles nodded.

"I did say that," he agreed.

"Does that still stand?"

"Of course it does."

"I stopped by to find out how I would go about doing that," she prompted politely.

Zayn and Maya both watched as Mr. Styles thought for a second. His eyebrows rose all of a sudden as an idea occurred to him. Zayn saw his eyes shift from him to Maya, then back to him, then back to Maya, and Zayn knew what was about to happen.

"Maya, I am quite sorry to do this to you, but here is your first tutee," Mr. Styles said. Maya peered at Zayn again who didn't meet her eye.

"Okay," she said nonchalantly. "Thanks, Mr. Styles."

Zayn didn't do so much as nod at the man as he followed Maya out of the classroom.

"What's your number?" she asked once they were in the hallway out of Mr. Styles' earshot.

Zayn gave it to her then smirked as he watched her plug it in. He added, "My name is Zayn, by the way. Zayn Malik." She blushed.

"My name is Maya Payne," she said, looking a little flustered. "Wow, I totally didn't ask… Nevermind. Sorry about that. I'll text you when I'm available to tutor, Zayn. Is that okay?"

"That's fine with me," he replied. She looked rather pleased with herself as she slipped on her jacket.

"I guess I'll see you later then, Zayn." Maya threw her periwinkle bag over her shoulder again then walked down the hall, a slight bounce to her step. Zayn watched as her hair swished back and forth with each step she took, and he had to smile. Maybe Mrs. Knight was right. Maybe this tutoring thing wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

 **Which love interest are you (Maya, Grace, or Sam)? Leave a review, and let me know!**

 _ **Sneak Peak:**_ **Chapters are posted every week! Next time, we'll meet Niall Horan, Carlos Garcia, James Diamond, and of course, Sam Sheffield!**


	2. Friday Night Fever

**Chapter 2: Friday Night Fever**

"And TOUCHDOWN! I can't believe it, folks! That was an amazing play by the Pineview Parrots! The score is now 17 – 10, Parrots in the lead. Wow, that was an awesome play by the Pineview team. Now, we're going to clear the field and begin the halftime show…"

But the announcer could hardly be heard over Pineview High School's side of the stadium. The crowd was going wild.

"WOO-HOO!" Carlos shouted. "YEAH PARROTS! BEAT THE…" He turned to Louis. "What's the other team called again?" Louis shrugged, and Carlos turned back to the field. "BEAT THE OTHER TEAM!" he yelled.

Carlos exhaled sharply, looking quite pleased with himself. He straightened his winter jacket and sat back down on the bleachers beside Louis and their air-headed friend, James Diamond.

"Wow, that was awesome," Carlos sighed.

"Yeah. Awesome." In short, Louis was not amused. He hated football, but James had dragged him there that evening. Carlos didn't help him out of it either. _He_ seemed to be convinced that since Louis was trying out for the play, he suddenly wanted to get involved in school activities. If it were really up to Louis, he would be at a Friday night party, not a dumb school football game listening to Carlos rant about how awesome sports and girls were.

"Sam Sheffield is _so_ hot," Carlos went on. "She's _beautiful_ and the only girl on the football team too!"

"Double the coolness!" James smiled, flipping his Justin Bieber hair then flashing a movie star smile.

"Shut up, James," Louis grumbled.

"Yeah, James, back away from my girl," Carlos seconded defensively.

Louis bit his lip. Sam Sheffield was actually a close friend of his. Their parents had been good friends after college, so they'd known each other since they were kids. Sam thought Louis was (accurately) a jerk, but they both knew they could rely on each other to have each other's back. Because of this, Louis knew for a fact that Sam had the (major) hots for Niall Horan, the only boy on the varsity cheerleading squad.

"I don't know, Carlos," he told his friend. "I don't know if she's, uh… I don't think she's looking for a boyfriend right now," he lied.

"I overheard her talking to her friend that she was looking for a date to the Winter Formal," Carlos replied. "Quite loudly too."

"Now would be the perfect time for you to swoop in!" James exclaimed.

Louis frowned. "Shut up, James."

"Come on, Louis, what's the problem?" Carlos said. "You guys have been friends forever, and you always tell me what a nice girl she is."

"And you're a nice guy, Carlos," James put in.

"So naturally we're perfect for each other," Carlos noted.

"I _definitely_ tell you how mean she is to me," corrected Louis. "And how she thinks that I'm a big jerk."

"Well…" Carlos began.

"Don't respond to that," Louis snapped before he could finish. Carlos looked almost beside himself. The lovesick stars in his big brown eyes made Louis want to puke, but James was eating it up. Not that his opinion mattered anyway.

"Will you _please_ be my wingman and put in a good word for me?" Carlos asked.

Louis glanced at his best friend who was searching the crowd for Sam. She was standing down with the rest of the team; she had just taken off her helmet and let her long, wavy dirty blonde hair fall loosely at her back. You could almost see her blazing blue eyes from the bleachers. Yeah, she was pretty, Louis had to admit… even if she did think he was a jerk.

Louis weighed his options, but he didn't see any harm in trying to convince Sam that Niall wasn't the right guy for her. Every time they talked nowadays seemed to be Niall Horan this, Niall Horan that, only Sam had a bit of difficulty pronouncing his name. It might do her some good to broaden her horizons. He also had a feeling that Sam wasn't Niall's partner preference either.

"Fine," he finally said. "As long as you don't drag me to one of these dumb things again," he added quickly. Carlos grinned and took Louis' hand to shake it.

"It's a deal."

* * *

The game ended with an embarrassing defeat… for the opposite team.

Sam Sheffield high-fived her teammates and cheered with the rest of the crowd. Football was riveting, and she adored the rush of heading out onto the field. Seeing the lights on the grass. Feeling the adrenaline of running to tackle the other players. Most of all, though, she loved how the football slipped between her hands in a flawless catch.

Which was how the Pineview Parrots had scored their last point.

Her coach had been _thrilled_ with her. At the beginning of the year, he'd been hesitant to let her on the varsity football team, but she certainly never let him down. She was one of the best players and an excellent catcher, but Sam didn't care for the glory at the moment. She had her wide blue eyes set on one person only… Niall Horan.

Sam put her helmet onto the bench and slipped past a few of her teammates who were congratulating each other. She headed toward the cheerleading squad where Niall was chatting with some of other girls. Sam conveniently pushed past the female cheerleaders to get to Niall.

"Ni-yall!" she exclaimed. "You are _so_ good at cheerleading. You really keep me pumped out there." Niall smiled at her as she stared at his thick, bottle blonde hair. He was wearing a tight-fitting blue and red cheerleading shirt and navy pants with light-weight white sneakers.

"Oh, Sam!" he exclaimed ecstatically. "You're too funny. How many times must I tell you that my name is _Niall?_ " Sam chuckled lightly.

"Oh, Ni-yall," she laughed, completely oblivious to his comment. She batted her long eyelashes. " _You're_ funny! Your pompoms are beautiful, by the way, and they perfectly match the pigment of your eyes."

Niall stared at her, then at his deep blue pompoms. "Uh… Thanks? You're really nice, Sam, and you played pretty amazingly today. Hudson sure gave that ball a good throw at the end, huh?" His eyes drifted over to burly football players gathered at the gate. "He's _really_ cute."

Sam was about to say that Hudson was an ugly jerk but thought better of it.

"Hudson's whatever," she said dismissively instead. She gave him a long adoring look before continuing, "So, Ni-yall, how about we hang out tomorrow afternoon? Just the two of us. Alone. Together. By ourselves. With no one but each other for company. In solitude. You and me. If you catch my drift."

"I'm actually busy tomorrow," Niall told her gently, but Sam didn't seem to get the hint.

"That's okay!" she told him optimistically. "We can do it some other time. I have all the time in the world for you, Ni-yall. _All the time in the world._ "

"Niall," Niall corrected her, but she was too busy staring at his face.

Varsity football star Sam Sheffield was an extremely kind girl despite what Louis would say, but when she got hooked on a guy, she was really hooked on that guy. She could probably get any boy she wanted (except Niall), and Niall was perfectly aware of that. He thought he had given her plenty of strong hints, but she never seemed to get the message. Niall was too kind-hearted to want to break that kind of news to a sweet girl like Sam. Even so, this had been going on for weeks, and he was running out of excuses.

"What did you say, you gorgeous being?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Niall replied, beginning to back away. "I'll see you later, Sam."

Sam watched Niall go, still lost in a fantasy. What would make her realize Niall was gay? The world may never know.

* * *

Instead of joining his peers at the football game that Friday, Zayn was working at his parents' – er, his dad's – bookstore. Like Louis, Zayn wasn't exactly a big fan of football. Unlike Louis, though, he wouldn't be caught dead wasting his time at a Friday night party.

The last time Zayn had been to a party was his junior year's homecoming dance where his date turned out to be a huge attention hog. Needless to say, he dumped her after a few obnoxious stunts she pulled. Since then he had been looking for a girl with a little more class, but until that day came, he had his job to distract him.

Zayn didn't mind working at the store, but it was a little too close to his father for comfort. His father would only treat him like an employee, which made for several awkward situations. This was why he liked to hide out in the back of the store by the teenage fiction section, organizing books. The job was strangely calming and kept his mind off of his problems.

That evening, he was carrying a box of sappy vampire novels to the back when a small child ran right in front of him, causing him to lose his balance. Zayn managed to catch himself on a nearby shelf, but the box fell. Vampire books spilled all over the floor. He grumbled as he got onto his knees to pick up the mess.

"Need a hand?" a familiar voice asked.

Zayn looked up to see Maya Payne, standing by the mystery novels. Her dark curls were pulled back into a ponytail, and her smiling face was unmistakable. He felt his cheeks getting hot, and he made sure his evergreen polo was completely tucked into his khaki pants. If he had to be wearing the store's uniform when he ran into his cute math tutor, he was going to make sure he was wearing it properly.

Maya made her way over to Zayn and began helping him. He saw her pick up one of the books, glance at the cover, and begin to giggle.

"What?" he asked. She smiled and showed him the front picture. The image was a pretty morbid-looking, pale, shirtless teenager who Zayn assumed was supposed to be a vampire.

"Is this what you like to read in your free time?" she joked. Her face broke into another grin that Zayn was beginning to love.

"You caught me," he said, cracking a smile. "Now you know why I'm having trouble with calculus."

He placed a few more of the books into the cardboard box as she laughed.

"I didn't realize that you worked here," she told him. "I come to this store all the time looking for something interesting to read."

"Then it's a wonder I haven't seen you around before. I'm here all the time," he replied.

Maya plopped the remainder of the vampire books into the box then stood up. She rolled onto her tiptoes, peering toward the front of the bookstore where there was a small coffee shop area. Zayn stood as well and picked up the box.

"Hey, how about I tutor you over there?" she said, pointing at the coffee shop. "If you're not busy, I could drop by next Friday." Zayn set the box on top of an empty shelf and leaned against the top.

"I'm down for that," he said. "The end of the semester is in a few weeks, so I could use some help before the final."

Maya smiled at him warmly. "I know that Mr. Styles can exaggerate things sometimes, so I bet you don't need as much help as you think. You seem like a pretty intelligent guy."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked.

"Sometimes I just have a good feeling about people, Zayn," Maya assured him.

He gazed at her sparkling brown eyes which seemed to be assuring him that he could trust her. Zayn felt a nagging in the back of his mind, warning him not to trip, because the next thing he knew, he'd fall in love with his math tutor. He shook his head. That was treading in dangerous waters.

"Next Friday is fine," he said.

"Zayn! I need you for register duty!"

The sound of his father's unusually loud voice made Zayn wince. Maya jumped too, almost knocking into him. Zayn put the box down and shoved it out of the aisle against the wall.

"I'll see you around, Maya," he said quickly. He hurriedly rushed toward the register.

For the rest of the night, he replayed their short conversation over and over again in his mind. He wished he had been a little more responsive. It was one of the many times Zayn wished he had mastered the skill of saying the right thing at the right time. Every time the conversation entered his thoughts, he tried to shove it from his mind, but to no avail.

He had tripped, and he was falling in love.

* * *

 **Would you be at the football game with Louis or reading a book with Zayn? Let me know in a review!**

 _ **Sneak Peak:**_ **Make sure you subscribe because next week, we meet Liam Payne, and we get a flavor for just how sassy Sam and Louis's friendship is!**


	3. Friendly Feedback

**Chapter 3: Friendly Feedback**

 _LTomlinson has logged on (10:51)_

 **LTomlinson.** Sam, are you there?  
Sam Sheffield?  
Where are you Sam?  
Helloooo…  
Sam, will you please answer me?

 _BatmanPancakes has joined the conversation (10:58)_

 **BatmanPancakes.** What do you want? I was sleeping.

 **LTomlinson.** I really need your advice.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Don't you always?

 **LTomlinson.** It's really important this time.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Oh really? :D  
*sarcasm :(

 **LTomlinson.** -_-

 **BatmanPancakes.** Here's some advice. Look down at your foot…

 **LTomlinson.** Um… okay.

 **BatmanPancakes.** I want you to take it, shove it down your throat, and leave me alone.

 _BatmanPancakes has left the conversation (11:01)_

 **LTomlinson.** SAM, GET BACK HERE.

 _BatmanPancakes has joined the conversation (11:01)_

 **BatmanPancakes.** Did you take my advice?

 **LTomlinson.** No, I did not.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Darn.

 _BatmanPancakes has left the conversation (11:02)_

 **LTomlinson.** SAM, I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE YOUR ADVICE.

 _BatmanPancakes has joined the conversation (11:02)_

 **BatmanPancakes.** How about now?

 **LTomlinson.** Seriously?

 **BatmanPancakes.** Fine. I'm listening.

 **LTomlinson.** Mr. McDonald is making me audition for the school play, and I want to know how to flub it.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Why do you want to flub it?

 **LTomlinson.** I don't want to be in a dumb play!

 **BatmanPancakes.** It's not like you have anything better to do.

 **LTomlinson.** I have plenty of things to do, thank you very much.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Yeah, like styling your hair.  
And throwing parties whenever your dad goes on travel.  
And slacking off on your homework.  
And I couldn't forget styling your hair.

 **LTomlinson.** That's enough, Sam.

 **BatmanPancakes.** In all seriousness, you haven't done anything with your life.

 **LTomlinson.** That's exactly what Carlos said.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Carlos? Doesn't he play for the orchestra?  
I play football…  
Heck even _James_ takes photos for the school newspaper.

 **LTomlinson.** I _don't_ want to be in the stupid show. I came to you for advice because you've auditioned for these things before. Not so you could chastise me.

 **BatmanPancakes.** You got me. Okay, here are the best ways to screw up an audition.  
1\. Show up on time.  
2\. Be quiet when the director says so.  
3\. Get into character.  
4\. Project when it's your turn.  
5\. Don't be obnoxious while other people are auditioning.  
6\. Do your best. :D

 **LTomlinson.** Seriously? That works?

 **BatmanPancakes.** Absolutely, he won't want you in the cast at all. ;)

 **LTomlinson.** Thanks, Sam! I'll do all those things! You're the best.

 **BatmanPancakes.** I know.

 **LTomlinson.** So, how are things with Niall going?

 **BatmanPancakes.** Ni-yall is so amazing, and I still like him a lot.

 **LTomlinson.** …his name is Niall.

 **BatmanPancakes.** I don't know what I'd do without my friendship with Ni-yall.

 **LTomlinson.** You're screwing with me, aren't you?

 **BatmanPancakes.** What are you talking about, Lois?

 **LTomlinson.** My name is Louis.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Did you say something, Lois? I was too busy thinking about Ni-yall. His eyes are like the moon…

 **LTomlinson.** Do you know my friend Carlos? He's a nice guy. His eyes are like the moon too.

 **BatmanPancakes.** His hair shines like the sun…

 **LTomlinson.** Carlos' hair shines like… dirt?  
Oh, crap, that's not what I meant.  
It's like, pretty dirt, you know?  
Attractive dirt that makes flowers grow.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Ni-yall's smile is the light of my life…

 **LTomlinson.** Carlos is a really, really nice person, and you'd like him a lot!

 **BatmanPancakes.** Ah, but enough talking about Ni-yall.

 **LTomlinson.** Did you even read a _word_ of my messages?

 **BatmanPancakes.** Did you say something, Lois?

 **LTomlinson.** Yes, I said a lot of things actually.

 **BatmanPancakes.** Well, I don't want to hear them. Good night, Lois. Break a leg at your audition tomorrow. Wheeeee!

 _BatmanPancakes has left the conversation (11:23)_

* * *

Maya couldn't help but go to the bookstore again.

There was just something about her new tutee that greatly intrigued her. He seemed kind yet mysterious, and there seemed to be more to him than met the eye. Not to mention he was incredibly handsome. Ivory hair that was just dying for someone to run their fingers through it, a chiseled face (but not too chiseled), and a sweet smile… It was almost too much to take in at once. How could she focus on tutoring a guy when he looked like Zayn Malik?

To be perfectly honest, at first glance, Maya Payne thought that Zayn would be one of those good-looking bad boys who didn't care about school. This, surprisingly, wasn't the case. Even though she'd only known him for two days (technically), she could tell that he was really just on Mr. Styles' list. Her math teacher had his favorites, and if you weren't one, watch out. That man could get nasty, much like his son. Her twin brother Liam always came home with plenty of unflattering stories about Harry Styles whenever it was basketball season.

That Saturday afternoon, Maya had dragged Liam to the bookstore with her, claiming that they had some new material that she wanted to check out. She conveniently left out that the only new novels she'd seen Friday were the vampire ones, but Liam didn't need to know that.

"I don't understand why you like this store so much," Liam said as he followed her through the aisles. "It's kind of stuffy in here."

Maya frowned at her brother and took one of the mystery books off the shelf. "You just don't like to read," she said dismissively. "That's not my fault."

She watched Liam groan dramatically and lean against the edge of a bookcase. He stuffed his hands into his basketball sports jacket and looked around.

"I'm going to go check out the CDs," he told her at last. "Text me when you're ready to go. Actually, I take it back. I'll come find you when I'm too sick of this place to stay here any longer."

Maya rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Liam."

He smirked and left her with the books for company. Maya frowned as she placed the novel back on the shelf. She walked up and down a few more aisles, unconsciously looking for Zayn. After a few minutes, she hesitantly wondered if he didn't work on Saturdays.

No sooner had the thought entered her mind than he all but appeared in front of her, another box of books in his arms. He wore the store uniform of a green polo and khaki pants again, which was a change to his usual black garb. Maya smiled when she saw him. His presence was calming to her and cheered her up. When Zayn caught Maya looking at him, he stumbled but managed to catch himself.

She laughed and headed over to him. "Do you need some help?" she asked nicely.

"I got it," he replied, maintaining his grip on the box. "So what are you doing back here, Braniac? Did you miss me that much?" he asked playfully. Maya raised her eyebrows in amusement, but she felt herself blushing.

"I told you that I'm here all the time looking for new things to read."

"Of course," said Zayn. He placed the box on a nearby table and began to stock up the bookcases. "Is there anything I can help you find?" he asked.

"Not really," Maya told him, watching him work. "What do you like to read?"

Zayn stopped working for a minute to think. "I haven't done a lot of reading lately," he admitted.

"Then what do you do?" she asked inquisitively. He sat on the table and crossed his arms.

"Well, if you can keep a secret, I find it more fun to watch other people and imagine what kind of book they'd star in."

"So I'm not the only person who does that," she chuckled, sitting next to him. "I still haven't found a good fit for Mr. Styles yet," she joked, bringing up the only person Maya knew they both knew. Zayn choked back a bitter laugh.

"If that man was ever on the cover of a book, it'd be a pretty boring story," he said resentfully, and Maya hoped that her math teacher wasn't around to hear their conversation. She wanted to laugh, but Mr. Styles had always been good to her. Not to mention his son Harry was dating one of her best friends.

"I'm done being reminded of school right now," she told Zayn lightly. "It's Saturday."

"I thought that you always thought about school."

"Then you obviously don't know much about me."

"Then I should probably start working on that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the Braniac. I think you know."

Maya blinked and looked away. This boy was something else.

Maya's last boyfriend's personality had been very similar to her own. He thought rationally about almost everything, even relationships. She felt a stab in her stomach, remembering everything they had. He had transferred to a fancy boarding school at the beginning of the year, and she missed him terribly. They had mutually decided that it would be too hard to keep the relationship going.

Maya's feelings for Zayn were surprising. She never thought she'd see herself going for a guy like him, who didn't seem to think rationally about anything. She just had this good feeling whenever he was around her, and she was pretty sure he felt it too.

Her thoughts were interrupted when her brother traipsed into the conversation. Liam stopped when he saw her with Zayn. There was a long, awkward pause before he finally broke the silence.

"Maya, it's time to go," he said sternly. She was about to protest until she saw the look in his eyes.

Maya slid off the table and onto her feet toward her brother. She turned and awkwardly waved good-bye to Zayn to which he simply nodded slightly. With a heavy heart, she let Liam lead her back toward the entrance of the store and into the cold.

"Why couldn't you leave me for like, a minute longer?" she demanded. Liam just looked at her.

"Maya, do you know _anything_ about Zayn Malik?" he demanded. "I don't want you hanging around him." This made her roll her eyes.

"You're being ridiculous, and you're _not_ the boss of me," she said defiantly. Her brother's judgment could be a little hazy anyway. "I'm just tutoring him in Calculus. That's all, Liam."

He zipped up his jacket and looked at her, not seeming so sure.

"Please, just watch yourself," he said, placing a hand on her back as they walked to their car. "I can't stand to see you get hurt again."

* * *

 **I wish Liam was** _ **my**_ **older brother! I also wish that I had friends like Louis and Sam.** **What do you think will happen at Louis's audition? Will Maya listen to her brother and stay away from Zayn?**

 _ **Sneak Peak:**_ **Next week, it's time for Grace Pearson and Harry Styles! But Harry may not be everything you expect him to be… Be sure to subscribe!**


	4. How to Give an Amazing Audition

**Chapter 4: How to Give an Amazing Audition  
**

 **Show up on time.**

Louis showed up at exactly 2:30 Monday after school, and there were already a cluster of theatre nerds gathered around the auditorium. He looked around for Mr. McDonald, hoping that he'd be taking note of who _not_ to cast. Much to Louis' disappointment, he wasn't.

Carlos came just as everyone moved to take seats in the theatre. Even though Louis had to suffer, at least Carlos had to suffer with him.

"This is so exciting! I've never been to an actual audition before, Louis," he bubbled. "Aren't you hyped? Ooh, I have butterflies in my stomach."

Louis grumbled internally. _Did anyone suffer from the gross inadequacies of the human race as he did?_

 **Be quiet when the director says so.**

Mr. McDonald came into the auditorium about half an hour late, his arms full of script excerpts and various evaluation forms. He apologized for his tardiness and told everyone to take a seat. Louis could feel the vibrations of Carlos' jitteriness next to him. He swore that boy would make the perfect boyfriend for Sam.

 **Get into character.**

The director handed out the script excerpts. When Louis received his, he looked over the role of Sheridan Whiteside – a cranky old guy who insulted everyone. Well, Louis was pretty cranky at the moment, so he didn't take too long getting into character.

He glanced at Carlos who was reading under his breath and practicing crazy facial expressions. Everyone around him seemed to be performing similar preparatory rituals, but Louis refused to get caught up in the madness. Warming up must have been on the list of ways to have a _good_ audition, and he was too smart to follow _that_.

 **Project when it's your turn.**

As he made his way up the stage's stairs, his legs turn to jelly. His whole body felt stiff, and he would never admit it, but he even felt some of those butterflies Carlos had talked about. _What was happening?_ The first actor began the scene, and Louis's heart raced. It took all his self-control to keep the papers in front of him from shaking. His cue line was coming up… He had to remember to project…

One of the boys onstage spoke pointedly at Louis. "How do you do, Mr. Whiteside? I hope that you are better."

Louis managed a completely deadpan expression, and in the most projected, obnoxious voice he could, he stated, "Thank you. I am suing you for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

He heard snickering in the crowd and felt more sweat gathering on his forehead. Were they laughing _with_ him or _at_ him? Louis certainly wasn't laughing, so it was the latter. But were they laughing at Louis Tomlinson or at Sheridan Whiteside? Louis prayed it was the latter.

"You mean – because you fell on our steps, Mr. Whiteside?" a girl questioned Louis.

For better or worse, Louis liked making the crowd react. He stood up straight and tried to look as snobbish as possible. "Samuel J. Liebowitz will explain it to you in court," he tutted. "Who are those two harpies standing there like the _kiss of death_?"

Louis didn't know who the harpies were, but he tried to appear smug with the insult. The crowd laughed louder this time. His shaking died down, and he felt more confident.

"Oh, dear! My calf's-foot jelly," another girl squealed.

Again, Louis had no idea what in the world a 'calf's-foot jelly' was, but he tried to look indifferent. He glanced at the script and grumbled, "Made from your own foot, I have no doubt. Now, Mrs. Stanley, I have a few small matters to take up with you. Since this corner druggist at my elbow tells me that I shall be confined to this moldy mortuary for at least another ten days, due entirely to your stupidity and negligence, I shall carry on my activities as best I can."

Everyone in the auditorium roared. Louis even saw Mr. McDonald break a smile, and he felt good. The scene continued, and he tried his best to play up the character like Sam had said. He even – dare he say it – was enjoying himself.

Eventually, Mr. McDonald stopped them, and the actors were sent back to their seats to the sound of enthusiastic applause. Louis plopped himself next to Carlos feeling jittery in a good way.

"Was I awful?" he asked his friend excitedly. Carlos laughed.

"Louis, you budding actor, you were anything _but_ awful," he said encouragingly, pounding him on the back. "I didn't know you had it in you! You were awesome."

"Awesome," Louis said, then paused _. Carlos hadn't said one bad thing about his audition._ "Wait, what?"

 **Don't be obnoxious while other people are auditioning.**

To his surprise, Louis didn't have trouble paying attention to the others auditioning until Harry Styles got onto the stage. Louis couldn't help but internally fume.

Harry and Louis had hated each other since elementary school when Harry would push Louis in the sandbox…. and knock down his sand castle… and steal his juicebox… and take his favorite swing… and push him in the mud. This escalated in middle school when Harry would shove him into lockers… and throw volleyballs at him in P.E… and steal his juicebox… and cut him in the lunch line… and push him in the mud. In high school, Harry had grown up and resorted to nasty looks in the hallway.

There were so many reasons Louis hated Harry Styles.

Harry had luscious, wavy caramel hair and emerald eyes. When he leapt onto the stage, he stole the show. His physicality was flawless, and his voice immediately took on the Whiteside persona. The crowd was in stitches with every punch-line. Louis sunk deeper into his seat, and Carlos patted the top of his head.

Everyone but Louis clapped when Harry finished the scene with the other actors. When the next group took the stage, Louis watched attentively, glad that he didn't have to stare at Harry's obnoxiously handsome face anymore. The scene started, and Louis' eye was drawn to one of the girls onstage. She had shiny, shoulder-length black hair and was wearing a pale pink blouse and jeans. Louis watched as she carried herself with mesmerizing sophistication. He felt his heart gently palpitating.

"Who is _that_?" he whispered to Carlos.

"That's Grace Pearson," his friend replied. "She's one of Sam's best friends, and she _always_ gets the leads in shows."

Louis stared at her. "I see why."

 **6.** **Do your best. :D**

After the auditions, Mr. McDonald thanked everyone and reminded them that the cast list would be up Friday morning. Louis swung his backpack over his shoulder and left the auditorium. As he remembered Sam's last bit of advice, he felt a strange adrenaline that he only used to get at a party. He _wanted_ to get a part in the play (and not just so he could impress the attractive actresses). Perhaps he'd given a successful audition after all. He forgot about flubbing it, and it felt good.

He also felt that maybe, _just maybe_ Sam had lied to him.

* * *

"And that's why sarcasm and lying are two very different things," Sam finished explaining to Niall at the end of the day. He flashed her a smile, and Sam felt her heart melting. _He loves me._

"I see," he said. "I'll never think they're the same ever again."

"I am so glad I could enlighten you."

Sam's heart fluttered as they continued down the hallway to their cars. She wished that there was some way that she could show Niall that she was _totally_ digging him. His smile was the light of her life, his eyes shone like the sun on a moonless night. There was no other way that she would rather spend her precious time than with Ni –

"Yo, Sam Sheffield!"

"Wait up, girl!"

"MOVE OUTTA THE WAY, SQUIRT! WE GOTTA TALK TO SAM!"

Sam and Niall stopped to see Sam's fellow football players barreling through the crowds. Some people would think that these burly boys would be jealous of how Sam stole the show in games, even though she was the only girl, but it was quite the opposite case. They all adored how she was so pretty but could really be one of the guys.

"What's up?" she asked. They always put her in a good mood.

"Sam," her friend Hudson panted. "We got this awesome new video game, and we wanted to know if you wanted to come play it – "

"LAST ONE THERE'S A ROTTEN EGG!" Sam declared, and the boys continued to tumble through the hall. She turned to Niall. "I'll catch you later, Ni-yall!" Then she too was off to chill with the guys. Niall didn't mind though; in fact, he was too busy watching Hudson high-five his friends to even respond.

* * *

 **Oh no, Harry and Louis don't like each other! What do you think of this, readers?**

 _ **Sneak Peak:**_ **Louis meets Grace and speaks to Harry for the first time in years. Meanwhile, Maya makes an important decision about Zayn…**


	5. Bitter Enemies and New Beginnings

**Chapter 5: Bitter Enemies and New Beginnings**

There was already a crowd hovering over the cast list Friday morning when Louis and Carlos arrived. Carlos squeezed through a mix of disappointed faces and people leaping for joy while Louis hung back, shaking his perfectly-styled head. _How could people get so excited over a role in the dumb school play?_

"Hey, I got a part!" Carlos cried happily over the crowd.

"Is my name there?!" Louis demanded, shoving a random person out of his path to get closer. Carlos' eyes skimmed the cast list, and Louis could feel his heart pounding. He nervously awaited the response.

"Yeah," Carlos told him at last.

"YES!" Louis shouted which caused a few people to give him strong looks. In response, he cleared his throat and smoothed his blue polo. "I mean, that's pretty neat, I guess."

Almost a second later, Carlos was nearly thrown out of the crowd. "Whew, it's madness in there," he exclaimed. "Isn't this great, Louis? I was cast as Professor Metz! He's the crazy scientist who brings Whiteside a cockroach farm!"

"Terrific," said Louis with less emotion than a brick. "Who am I?" he asked urgently, but Carlos just scratched his head.

"I have no clue."

Louis nearly exploded. "What?! But you saw my name. Why didn't you just look over to see who I was?"

"Hey, I found your name. You can't expect me to do everything around here," Carlos replied, holding up his hands in defense.

Louis grumbled as he headed back into the sea of anxious teenagers. A couple people moved away from the door so he could get a better look.

 _John…...Louis Tomlinson_

 _Who the hell is John?_

Louis was just about to ask Carlos until he saw the pretty girl from the audition, and he lost his train of thought. He tried not to stare as she graciously thanked some friends who were congratulating her, but he found himself gazing at her smile. After internally debating with himself, he decided to talk to her.

"Hey," he said, catching her attention. She turned with a smile still on her face. "Your audition was _amazing_ ," he told her sweetly. "What part did you get?"

She beamed. "Oh, thank you! That's so nice of you. I got Maggie."

"Congratulations!" exclaimed Louis. He was pretty sure that Maggie was the lead, and he hoped that she and John would have scenes together.

"Thanks," she said again. "My name is Grace Pearson, by the way. I don't think I caught your name."

Louis tried his smoldering smirk. "It's Louis Tomlinson," he said suavely.

Grace's expression didn't change. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Louis," she said. "Did you get a part? I haven't seen you in shows before."

"Yes," Louis said proudly. "I'm –"

But before he could tell her, Harry Styles and his devilish good looks swept into the conversation. He ignored Louis completely and wrapped his arms around Grace, then picked her up and spun her around.

"Congrats on the lead, Gracie! I knew you'd score it," he said, placing her back on the floor. He flipped his hair back like he was part of an Herbal Essence commercial.

"Thanks, you too! You'll make an excellent Whiteside," she replied. "Do you know Louis, Harry? He got into the show too."

Harry slowly turned to face Louis as if first acknowledging his existence with a slight look of disapproval. This was soon replaced with a thin, cruel smile.

"Yes, Gracie. I know Mr. Tomlinson," he said mockingly, but Grace didn't seem to pick it up.

"What role did you say you got?" she asked Louis.

Louis felt like his tongue had turned to lead, but he managed to say, "John."

Immediately, Harry's head whipped back as he was overcome with a fit of laughter. Louis' face turned beet red as Harry continued hooting like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. Obviously he knew something that Louis didn't.

"I don't see what's so funny," Louis said furiously.

"Sorry, how rude of me." Harry wiped away an imaginary tear. "John is the butler, and Whiteside gets to boss him around the entire show." Harry elbowed Louis' side a little too roughly. "Looks like we have to work on our stage chemistry, eh, Lou?"

"Wait, why is that so funny?" Grace questioned.

Harry smiled kindly. "John's role is just really fun," he lied. "He'll have a _blast_."

Louis wanted to punch the smile right off Harry's face, but the warning bell rang before he could even make that decision. Harry casually wrapped his arm around Grace's shoulder and said, "Let's go get our stuff."

"Nice meeting you, Louis!" Grace called as Harry led her away. "See you at rehearsal!"

All Louis could do was internally fume as he watched Harry and Grace walked back to the auditorium, laughing and smiling, hand in hand.

* * *

That afternoon, Maya had tutored Zayn in the coffee shop of his father's bookstore. She was surprised at how quickly he picked up her tips. The logic of math came easily, but once the questions were written differently, he had trouble comprehending what they were asking. Maya was able to help him out there.

Zayn was also pleasantly surprised at how kind Maya was. When he first met her, she seemed nice enough, but he thought that she'd easily slip into a know-it-all mode like Mr. Styles. This wasn't the case, and she was never impatient or cross. He was able to acknowledge that she was a wonderful tutor… Could she ever be more than that?

"And how do you solve this one?" she asked him, pointing to a problem in the textbook. Zayn read through it.

"It doesn't say to use first principles, so you should solve for the derivative using the product rule, right?" he asked her.

"Absolutely right," she said, and Zayn began to scribble on his looseleaf. "You don't have to solve it. You've done enough of these to know how to answer it. In fact, we've been at this for more than two hours now."

Zayn looked at the clock and was completely taken by surprise. "Oh, wow, you're right. Time has flown by. Time _never_ flies by when I'm doing math."

Maya giggled. "You're getting really good at these derivatives," she said, closing the textbook. "I think you can be done for the day."

Zayn shoveled his work papers into a folder then relaxed his hands behind his head. He made a quick decision to be bold.

"You know, I don't usually agree with Mr. Styles. But making you tutor me has to be the nicest thing he's ever done for me," he said.

Maya didn't even look at him as she said, "I usually agree with Mr. Styles. But making me tutor you is at the top of my list." Zayn was happily taken aback by her response, and he glanced at her as she packed up her stuff into her backpack.

"I appreciate it," he told her. "I know you probably have a million other better ways you could be spending your Friday evening."

"It's alright, I still have my Saturday evening," she teased. Her bag was all packed now, but she didn't look like she had any intention of leaving just yet.

"Do you want something to drink?" Zayn asked.

"Oh, it's fine," she said hastily.

"Let me get you something to drink," he repeated politely. "It's the least I can do for spending two hours with me doing calculus."

"Zayn, you don't have to –"

He held up a hand. "I insist."

Maya sat there, flattered and defeated, while Zayn ordered hot chocolates for them both. In a few minutes, the waiter brought them over. Zayn hadn't originally intended for their tutoring session to become a date-of-sorts, but he was more than happy it had. He kept looking at Maya to see if she felt the same way, but she just seemed conflicted.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, taking a sip from his mug.

Maya turned back around and looked at him with her round brown eyes.

"Not at all," she replied quickly. Her pupils darted back and forth for a second before she spoke again. "Hey, I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot," he said.

"Niall's having a seasonal party next Saturday, and he's inviting the whole grade," she told him. "I was wondering, well… I don't know if you're working next Saturday, or if you have plans or something… But I wanted to know if maybe you wanted to, um…"

"Go?" he asked with a grin, saving her from more stuttering.

"With me," Maya completed.

They both looked at each other a moment, enraptured in each other's eyes. Zayn was feeling the fireworks, and he hoped that she was too. He hoped more than anything that this was more than just a casual invitation, but he couldn't tell. Actually, he felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her right then and there, but he was afraid of rejection.

"Yes," he said at last. Maya exhaled heavily, and he wondered if she had been holding her breath the whole time.

"Really?" she choked, surprised.

He smiled at her warmly so she knew that he actually wanted to be with her at that party. They made intense eye contact once more before Maya broke it and picked up her backpack. With a small smile on her face, she swung it over her shoulder and said, "Thanks for the hot chocolate, Zayn. I'll see you around school. Bye!"

She hastily grabbed her jacket and headed out of the bookstore. Zayn watched her go. He had completely fallen for her.

At the moment, he had ignored the fact that he hated parties. He never knew what to do, and he never really fit in with the other teenagers. Zayn also strongly disliked a lot of the other seniors at Pineview High School, because they were always shooting him disapproving glares. A sour feeling in his stomach warned him that there would be several awkward moments at this party.

But despite all this, he smiled at the memory of Maya stumbling over her words to ask him, and he couldn't help but say to himself, "I'm suddenly really looking forward to next Saturday."

* * *

 **Louis is jealous of Harry, and Maya and Zayn are going on a** _ **date**_ **? Have you ever had a crush on your enemy's significant other?**

 _ **Sneak Peak:**_ **We join Louis, Grace, Harry, and Kendall Knight at play practice…**


	6. Microwaves and Madness

**Chapter 6: Microwaves and Madness**

"Sarah's got a little surprise for you, Mr. Whiteside. She's just taking it out of the microwave," Louis said to Harry who was sitting downstage in a wheelchair.

"Thank you, John," said Harry in a tired, sarcastic tone. He rolled his eyes.

"Cut!" Mr. McDonald shouted. Pressing a finger to his temple, he sighed, "Whiteside, could you _please_ deliver that line as if you _like_ John? You two actually like and respect each other in this show."

"Of course," replied Harry with a sugary sweet smile. "We are acting, after all."

"I don't care what you're doing. Just change the delivery. And action!" their director shouted. After a long day of school and what was beginning to look like a long rehearsal, the drama teacher was already at his wits end.

"Sarah's got a little surprise for you, Mr. Whiteside," Louis said again, patience beginning to wane. "She's just taking it out of the microwave –"

"First of all, the line is not microwave. It's 'oven,'" Harry interrupted, breaking character. "How am I supposed to deliver the next line correctly if my cue line is wrong? Your ignorance could mess up the entire show."

"Deepest apologies," Louis drawled.

Harry threw his arms up in frustration. "Are you not taking this seriously?"

"No, I am taking it seriously, but you're making a big deal out of nothing," Louis snapped. "I'll change the line. There's no need to be drama queen about it."

"You undermine the importance of this line," Harry explained in that old _I'm-Harry Styles-and-I-know-everything_ voice. "What if microwaves weren't invented? The Cappies will mark us off. And what if I miss my line because of that little mistake?"

"Then you won't thank me, and we can move on."

"Mr. McDonald, Tomlinson isn't taking this seriously –" Harry tattled, but he was cut off by the sound of the director slamming his head into his clipboard. "Mr. McDonald?" Harry prompted. "Mr. McDonald, tell him –"

"Harry, give it a rest," called Kendall Knight, who played the second largest male role. "You're kind of making a big deal out of nothing. He'll fix the line, okay?"

A scary look crossed Harry's face. It distorted his fine features and made him look downright murderous. Luckily, his back was facing the offstage area where Kendall stood so only Louis saw. But just as quick as the nasty look appeared, Harry's face returned to normal, and he continued as if nothing happened.

The moment Louis finished his lines and made his exit, he sighed heavily and leaned against the backstage wall. Working with Harry was exhausting, and having to hold his tongue every minute of rehearsal was taking every ounce of self-control.

"Rough scene?" a familiar voice questioned.

Louis stood up straight and saw Grace sitting on the couch behind him. Her legs were crossed elegantly, and it looked like she'd been reading over the script.

"Sort of," he replied with a small smile.

"It happens," she said with a shrug. "Come relax while you can."

How could this sweet girl be dating such a jerk? He glanced onstage and saw Harry shooting daggers at him from his wheelchair. Fearlessly, Louis flashed the lead actor a large grin and sat down next to Grace. He swallowed the bad feeling that he might be trying to steal his rival's girlfriend.

The remainder of rehearsal was choppy with stop-and-go scenes, and everyone was tired... except Grace and Louis who sat backstage chatting. The minute they finished their run-through, Mr. McDonald called everyone to the stage.

"Remember that one week from today is opening night!" Mr. McDonald stared at his cast with wild eyes and let fear settle. "You are dismissed."

On the way out of practice, Louis caught Grace's eye and smiled to which she waved and called, "See you Monday, Louis!"

In response, Harry moved next to her, placed a protective hand at her waist, and planted a large kiss on her lips. Grace just looked seriously annoyed with this PDA, and the couple began a quieter, serious conversation.

* * *

Production week was taxing, but the rush he felt on opening night was worth it all. The adrenaline that coursed through Louis's body at his audition was _nothing_ compared to performing for a live, laughing audience. After the show, Louis (still in his butler tuxedo) joined Carlos (still in his crazy scientist make-up) and James in the lobby where they both congratulated him.

"You got all your cues perfectly tonight!" Carlos said.

"Yeah, man, you were the best. Can you butler at my house?" joked James.

"Thanks, Carlos, you had the crowd in stitches," he said graciously. "And James, we both really appreciate you coming tonight. You're a good friend."

James gave him a suspicious look. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

"Yeah…" Carlos's voice trailed off. "You thanked me. That never happens."

"What are you talking about?" asked Louis. "I've thanked you before – "

"It's because you've been hanging out with that Grace Pearson girl!" Carlos pointed a finger at his chest triumphantly. "I knew it! I knew that you liked her."

Louis gawked at him. "You guys are being ridiculous! She's dating Harry!"

Carlos and James exchanged a look and smiled smugly.

"Which is exactly why you want her," said James.

"Besides the fact she's downright beautiful inside and out," Carlos added. "But not as gorgeous as Sam," he corrected himself.

"Guys, don't be ridiculous," Louis tried again, but he felt the conversation slipping. If he kept denying, they'd pester him more. He changed his shocked expression to a bored one. He said to James, "You asked me a question earlier. Well, the answer is no. I will _never_ butler at your house, you idiot."

"Now that's the Louis Tomlinson I know!" James said.

"Oh, Lou, you going to IHOP with the cast?" Carlos asked. "I can give you a ride."

"Thanks, Carlos, but I'm beat. I'm going to change and get home to be fresh for Niall's party tomorrow night."

Louis headed down the hall and overheard James say, "He thanked you twice! It's a record!" Maybe Grace _was_ changing his behavior. He tried not to think about how much he wanted her and Harry to break up as he closed the dressing room door.

Speak of the devil, as he changed out of his tux, Louis heard voices in the hall. One of them was Kendall. "You heading to IHOP?"

"Absolutely!" came Grace's reply. "Are you?"

"You bet," Kendall said. "Can I offer you a ride?"

Louis recognized Harry's sharp voice immediately. "No, you cannot. Ever."

"Sheesh, man, no need to be defensive," Kendall said slowly. "See you there, Grace." Louis heard the back door open as Kendall slipped out to the parking lot.

"What was that about?" Grace demanded once Kendall was gone. "You're so overprotective and angry, I hardly know you anymore! What's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into _me_? What's gotten into _you_?! You're suddenly flirting with every guy you come across. Did you notice _that_?"

"There's a difference between being nice and flirting," Grace said coolly.

"Oh really, well you haven't been doing either to me. I expect different treatment than Kendall or Tomlinson or whoever. In case you've forgotten, I'm your _boyfriend._ "

"I'm not disloyal, Harry. I still like you a lot, but I'm sick of all this fighting. No, I haven't forgotten you're my boyfriend since you like _reminding_ me so often. But if you can't trust me, then I won't need your reminders because they won't be true anymore."

Louis could sense the intensity of the silence that followed. He finished gathering his belongings, ready to leave the minute he could.

"A-Are you threatening to break-up with me?" Harry actually sounded heartbroken. "Grace…"

"I'll see you at IHOP, Harry," she said sadly.

"Let me give you a ride."

"I'd rather my mom drive me, if you don't mind."

Louis heard her leave through the back door, and he quickly grabbed his backpack and left the dressing room. When he stepped into the hall, he saw Harry standing stoically alone. Then all of a sudden, he swung open the door and chased his girlfriend into the parking lot, yelling apologies and compliments at the top of his lungs.

* * *

 **If you were Grace, would you stay with Harry? Let me know in a review!**

 _ **Sneak Peak:**_ **What happens when you put all of** _ **The Right Direction**_ **characters at Niall's seasonal party? The next chapter!**


	7. Seasonal Party Spectacular!

**Chapter 7: Seasonal Party Spectacular!**

Sam could hear the loud music from outside Niall's house. Pineview High School teenagers were spilling out of the place, and she could already sense the excitement of the party inside. Louis and Niall were both known for throwing amazing parties, and Sam knew that she was in store for a good time tonight.

Opening the front door, Sam peered into the house where she saw her classmates chatting, dancing, and hanging by a food table. She overheard several conversations about how the Winter Formal was quickly approaching and that people needed to find dates. As she walked down the main hallway, she hoped to see a familiar blonde boy to spend alone time with, but everyone but Ni-yall seemed to be present.

"Excuse me!" Sam said to a boy leaning against the stairs, talking to some friends. The back of his dark dirty blonde head looked very familiar…

He didn't change his position as he replied, "Yep?"

"Have you seen Ni-yall?" she asked.

"Niall? Oh yeah, he's downstairs." The boy faced her directly, and that's when Sam recognized his piercing brown eyes and full lips.

Her face lit up. "You're Maya's twin! So you're like, the _male_ version of Maya!" she exclaimed, leading Liam to give her a quizzical look.

"Yes…" he said slowly.

"That means your name must be Mayo!"

"No…"

Sam gave him a knowing look as if to say, _I'm not stupid, you know._

"My name is actually, Liam," Liam informed her. "Nice to meet you, though!"

"No, Mayo… You know like the abbreviated form of mayonnaise?" She looked at him expectantly, and when all she saw was him staring open-mouthed, not knowing what to say, she sighed. "Well, thanks for telling me where Ni-yall was, Mayo."

As Sam walked away, Liam stared after her long ponytail, still feeling lost. He looked at his soda curiously, wondering if someone had spiked it. But eventually, he just gave up and continued talking to his friends.

Sam made her way down the stairs into Niall's basement where she saw several boys clustered around a video game. There were large groups around the foosball and pool tables. Finally, she spotted Niall talking to Maya Payne and a tall, ruggedly handsome boy by deck.

"It's really nice to meet you, Zayn," Niall was saying. "It's a wonder I haven't seen you around before."

"I don't usually come to these," Zayn admitted.

Sam took in Zayn's mysterious eyes, thick hair, tall stature, black polo… and his hand that was casually placed at Maya's waist. She knew at once that her friend had some very important news to tell her when the time came.

"Well, once you come to one, you'll never want to stop!" Niall encouraged him. "I hope you both enjoy yourselves. Let me know if I can do anything for either of you."

Maya thanked Niall, and she walked away with Zayn. Sam saw her opening, and she swiftly walked toward Niall –

– when someone slammed into her from the other direction. The collision caused his drink to spill on his dark jeans in a very inconvenient place.

"I'm sorry!" Sam was immediately flooded with guilt. "Didn't see you there." She looked up and saw Louis Tomlinson staring in shock at his wet pants.

"It's fine, Sam," he told her as he frantically looked around for paper towels. Sam was surprised to not hear a string of insults following his statement.

As usual, James Diamond and Carlos Garcia were trailing close behind. Fortunately, Louis' striped t-shirt had avoided the soda splash. Unfortunately, James hadn't seen that Louis stopped, so he kept walking and slammed into Louis' back. The empty plastic cup skittered to the floor.

"James!" Louis snapped, and Sam was surprised _again_ to not hear a string of insults following his outburst.

"Why are you acting so weird?" she asked her childhood friend. "Are you on some strange medication that I should know about, Lois?"

"Nah, he's just been hanging out with Gr –" James began.

"I'm not acting weird. Why'd you think I'm acting weird?" Louis interrupted.

"You're being very… patient." Sam paused. "And I have never before used your name and that word in a sentence together before."

"No way, I just saw Harry, there's no way I'm being patient."

"Hairy Styles?"

Louis' expression twisted, and he demanded, "How come you pronounce his name correctly but not mine?"

"Because she likes me more," a new voice entered the conversation.

Sam saw Harry catch a glimpse at Louis' pants and start laughing uncontrollably. Louis's face turned tomato red.

"Did someone have an accident?" chortled Harry.

"Were you born on the highway?" Sam asked him. "Because that's where most accidents happen."

All four boys stared at her.

"Excuse me?" Harry choked.

"Yeah, I said it. Now buh-bye, Hairy, we were in the middle of a conversation," Sam said, wiggling her fingers at the confused boy who didn't realize he was being insulted by being called 'Hairy.'

Harry sputtered, "You can't just insult me and then tell me good-bye!"

"Boy, you so ugly that Hello Kitty told you good-bye," she said with a roll of her large blue eyes. "Now leave."

With a huff, Harry stormed away, knowing it probably wasn't a good idea to engage varsity football star Sam Sheffield in a fight. Louis, Carlos, and James stared at her with a newfound appreciation.

"Thanks, Sam," Louis said.

"It's what I do, Lois. Now if you and your strange medication will excuse me, I have someone to talk to."

"I'm not on medication!" he called after her, but she ignored this as she moved past the boys to pursue Niall.

When she finally caught up with him at the foosball table, he embraced her in a hug that had her head spinning. "Glad you could make it!" he said.

Sam felt giddy butterflies in her heart, and when he let her go, she leaned against the wooden table. She gave him a coy look that would have any other boy drooling, and in the most suave voice she could muster, she said, "Come here often?"

* * *

After talking to Niall, Maya led Zayn upstairs where they grabbed sodas. They moved out onto a wooden deck where there were less people.

"How do you like Niall?" she asked him casually, opening her can of Coke.

"He seemed nice enough," Zayn said quietly.

"But you're still uncomfortable," Maya completed.

"It's fine."

She touched his arm and said, "I want you to have a good time, and I don't want you to feel obligated to stay here."

Zayn swallowed, and even though he _did_ want to leave, he managed a small smile. "I'm having a good time with you. As long as you don't leave my side, I'll be fine."

"I won't."

Zayn set his soda down on the wood ledge and took her hand, ignoring the distant music coming from inside the house. He pulled her closer to him so their mouths were scarcely inches apart. Gently, he ran his fingers through her soft hair, then leaned in. As his eyes closed, he felt Maya place her warm hand on his cheek, and –

"Maya?"

Zayn paused and opened his eyes. He saw recognition in Maya's gaze as she laid eyes on a handsome boy standing in the glass doorway, holding an alcoholic beverage. Something about this guy's face was so familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

The boy leaned against the doorframe. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Maya hesitated, her body still against Zayn's. "Can it wait, Harry?"

 _Harry. Harry Styles._ The name made Zayn's skin crawl, and he was immediately flooded with hatred. If this guy was anything like his father, Zayn would rip his heart out and feed it to him with a rusty spoon…

"Your brother just wanted me to remind you of something," Harry said smoothly, ignoring Zayn completely. "Just thought you should know."

A thick silence overtook the brief exchange, in which Maya let go of Zayn and stared Harry down with steely eyes. Harry tipped his drink toward her and with a seductive-looking smirk, said, "Good night, Ms. Payne."

Zayn watched Harry saunter back into the party and talk it up with a few other girls. In less than a minute, as he watched Harry and the party girls dancing, he remembered exactly why he hated homecoming so much. Maya shuddered beside him.

"What a creep," she muttered. "A sleazy, drunk creep. He's going to get in so much trouble one day, I can feel it."

The romance and warmth of their previous conversation seemed to have vacated the deck. Zayn knew that he didn't have enough nerve to kiss Maya now.

"What did he mean by that?" he asked instead.

Maya leaned against Zayn again, resting her head on his strong shoulder, but she was still clearly tense. "It's nothing, just something stupid."

"If it's bothering you, then I wouldn't say it's stupid." She didn't speak, and Zayn placed his hand on top of hers. "You can trust me, I promise."

"When we first started seeing each other, Liam got overprotective," she told him at last. "He didn't want me to go out with you, which is stupid since you don't even know each other. Now, I guess, he's expressed his concerns with Harry, which is also stupid," she said bitterly. "Just because they're both on the basketball team doesn't mean they're suddenly best friends! I mean, basketball season hasn't even started yet."

Zayn swallowed hard. "Listen, Maya, I _really_ like you. But the last thing I want to do is cause discontent in your family."

"He doesn't _know_ you, Zayn."

When Zayn didn't reply, Maya knew that he must be thinking that she didn't know him either, but he didn't want to say it and risk offending her. She took his hands and looked at him.

"I know that we haven't known each other for long, Zayn. But I also know that I like the person I see in front of me, and I care about him more than I ever imagined. I have no idea why Liam feels the way he does, but it's not that hard to convince him of something once I put my mind to it, and I'm sure if we keep hanging out, I'll think –"

But she was cut off suddenly when Zayn leaned in and pressed his lips against hers in an electric kiss.

His eyes closed, and he felt her sink into him. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. Her fingers played with his tangled hair, and he deepened the kiss. He hardly cared if Liam or Harry could see them. He was blinded by everything except this smart, beautiful girl he was lucky enough to be kissing.

When they finally released each other, Zayn pulled her into a hug. He stroked her back and quietly said, "No one actually _knows_ me, Maya. But if someone ever did, I'd want them to be you."

Maya intertwined her fingers in his and whispered, "Is that what you tell all the girls?"

"No, and if you don't believe me, maybe you can get to know me better at the Winter Formal next Saturday."

A coy smile crossed Maya's lips. "That hardly made sense, but it's a date, Romeo."

* * *

 **Zayn is busting out the moves! And I don't know about you, but I would definitely want Sam on my side in a fight. What did you think of this chapter?**

 _ **Sneak Peak:**_ **Zayn tackles math once and for all, and Louis learns some startling news about Harry and Grace…**


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